Chapter Five
As soon as the words left her lips, Marit wondered if she’d done the right thing.
Tonight had been . . . eye opening. From the time Zach had met her on the dock, when he’d been so upset on her behalf about what Lucas Pearson had said and done, to taking her home, to walking her to his place, to cooking for her, to now .
. . she’d never had another date like it.
Despite only knowing him for a week, Marit felt closer to Zach than she had to any other human, other than her late mom and dad. For years she’d felt lonely, alone, even when she’d been living with her brothers, surrounded by lobstermen at her jobs, or even on the occasional date.
Zach made her feel seen. And heard. And cherished. It was a heady feeling. One she wanted to continue.
The last thing she wanted was to sit in one of his huge recliners by herself. Her feet wouldn’t come close to hitting the ground. She’d be swamped in the thing. She and Zach could share a recliner and still have room to spare.
But she was probably pushing things faster than he might want. Yes, he’d invited her over, but this was only their second date . . . if the first meal they’d had at Lobster Cove could even be considered a date.
“Sorry, I—”
“Yes,” Zach said, interrupting her. He sat so quickly, Marit could only blink in surprise. Then he held out a hand to her, silently.
The second his fingers closed around hers, Marit knew she’d made the right decision.
His touch felt like coming home. Gingerly, she lowered so she was sitting on his lap, and Zach didn’t hesitate to physically move her around so she was sitting kind of sideways, so her head could rest comfortably against his chest.
“This okay?” he asked softly.
“Perfect,” she breathed.
Amazingly, she felt completely at ease in his lap.
He was very comfortable, and his warmth soaked into her bones.
He’d opened a few windows earlier, and the ocean breeze wafted into the room, keeping things slightly cool and bringing in the fresh air at the same time.
She could hear the sounds of downtown Rockville in the distance, but soon that would die down as most businesses closed by eight in the small town.
“Anything in particular you want to watch?” he asked.
“You seen Stranger Things?” Marit asked.
“No. Haven’t seen anything,” he said with a chuckle. The sound reverberated against her back, and it felt intimate and cozy.
“It’s pretty good. My favorite season is the first one. It’s kind of about aliens and sci-fi and has a bunch of kids as the heroes and heroines. I have to warn you though, it can be confusing at first, until a couple episodes in when they start revealing some of what’s actually going on.”
“Sounds awesome,” Zach told her, as he aimed the remote at his TV and clicked it on. Before long, the eerie sounds of the opening notes of the soundtrack filled the room.
Marit sighed in contentment. Her belly was full, she was relaxed, and she was spending time with a man she trusted implicitly and liked a hell of a lot. Life was good.
The last thing she remembered was seeing the character Eleven on the screen in the first episode.
When she woke up, she was still in Zach’s lap.
Her head was lying on his shoulder, and he was holding her even closer.
One arm was around her back, his hand resting on her hip, and the other hand was lying heavily on her thigh.
His thumb gently caressing her, moving back and forth.
The light from the TV flickered in the darkness of the room, and his gaze was fixed on the screen.
“What time is it?” she asked quietly.
“No clue,” Zach responded. “Shhhh, we’re nearing the end of the third episode.”
“Holy crap, I’ve been asleep for almost three hours?” Marit asked, completely shocked.
“You worked hard today. You were tired. I got you. Now . . . hush, I don’t want to miss anything. This show is the bomb.”
Marit couldn’t help but grin as she did as he asked and hushed.
When the episode was over, Zach pushed the pause button and asked, “Will’s not really dead . . . right?”
Marit laughed. “Told you it was good.”
“It’s more than good. It sucks you in. And you’re right, I was totally lost at first, but it’s all coming together nicely. The writers are amazing.”
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.”
“Don’t be. I’m not. I’m honored that you felt safe and comfortable enough to do so.”
“You have to be tired too,” she felt obligated to say. “You’ve been up at the same time I have each morning, and you’ve been working just as hard. How do your knees feel? Are they okay?”
“They’re fine. And I’d give up any amount of sleep to have the privilege of holding you while you rest.”
Marit was at a loss for words as to what to say to that. Had any man ever said something so sweet to her before? No. Not even close.
The stress of the day was gone. Melted away, forgotten in a haze of good food, good company, and this man’s arms around her.
Sitting up, Marit adjusted so she was straddling Zach’s lap.
Her knees easily fit on either side of his thighs in the big chair.
As she’d thought, she more than fit in the recliner with him.
Thankful for her small size for once, Marit put her hands on Zach’s shoulders.
“I’ve never felt safe enough to fall asleep in a man’s place on one of our first dates.
And to fall asleep in his arms? Not a chance.
But there’s something different about you, Zach Young.
You make all my shields evaporate as if they were never there at all.
You make me want to be a different person. ”
“How so?” he asked, his gaze locked on hers.
“More direct about what I want.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
Silence met her pronouncement.
Just when she thought she’d blown it, that Zach would think she was easy or promiscuous or something, one of his hands grabbed her nape. It felt as if his fingers could almost meet all the way around her neck, his hand was that big. He made her feel even more petite than she usually did.
“I promised you’d be safe with me, and I wasn’t just saying what I thought you needed to hear.”
“I know.”
“I want you too.”
Marit smiled at him, loving that she was eye level with him, sitting on his lap as she was. “So what are we going to do about it?”
“Whatever you want. I’ll follow your lead.”
“And if I want to lead you to your bed?” She felt his dick twitch under her. His reaction made her more confident. Made her want him more.
“Be sure,” he said in a serious tone. “I’m not playing around here. There’s something about you that’s different than anyone I’ve ever been with, Marit. And I don’t want one night. That’s not who I am. If we do this, we’re doing it because we both want more than a fling.”
Nothing he said turned Marit off. It was a relief to hear him admit the same things she’d been feeling about him. “I don’t want a fling either,” she assured him.
To her surprise, Zach scooted forward on the recliner with her still in his lap and stood. His hands went to her ass to hold her up, and she let out a little screech, then a laugh as he walked the few steps it took to get to his bed. He dropped her on the mattress, then quickly climbed over her.
Marit scooted backward until her head was on one of his pillows, and he followed right along until he was hovering over her on his hands and knees.
“Be sure,” he repeated.
“I’m sure,” Marit said. And she was. She’d never been as sure of anything in her life as she was that she wanted this man. Right here and now.
Without a word, he straightened and stripped his T-shirt off over his head.
Marit stared up at him, her mouth literally watering.
The man was gorgeous. He had a smattering of dark chest hair, and every time he moved, his pectorals flexed.
He undid the button on his jeans and unzipped them, pushing them down far enough that she could see those muscles inside his hips that most women lusted over, and the happy trail that led between his legs.
But he stopped there, much to her disappointment.
He sat back on his heels, not putting any pressure on her legs but pinning her in place nonetheless. “May I?” he asked, as his hands hovered over her chest.
Marit nodded eagerly, squirming a little under him in anticipation.
His hands went to her belly, over her tank top, and smoothed upward. They went over her breasts, to her shoulders, then he caressed her arms as he made his way down to her hands. He moved to her belly again but this time eased his hands under her tank, so he was caressing bare skin.
She sucked in a breath at the first touch of his calloused hands on her body. The same zing she’d felt when they’d first touched hands coursed through her. But this time it was more intense—and she felt it right between her legs.
Without breaking eye contact, he moved his hands upward, starting on the same path as before, his big hands easily engulfing her breasts when he reached them, but he didn’t pull the cups of her bra down.
He simply caressed her through the material.
Then he changed course, moving his hands back down to her belly. Up. Down. Up. Down.
“Zach,” she whined.
“Yeah?” he asked with a small smile.
“Stop teasing me.”
“I want to go slow. There will only be one first time between us, and I want it to last.”
This felt so much more intimate than any other time she’d been with a man.
In the past, her partners had always wanted to get undressed as soon as possible, maybe suck on her boobs a bit, then have her go down on them before getting inside her and getting off quickly.
She’d never seen the reverence in a man’s eyes like she saw right now in Zach’s gaze.